The Dohány Street Synagogue or Tabakgasse Synagogue, is a historical building in Erzsébetváros Hungary. It is the largest synagogue in Europe and one of the largest in the world.
The synagogue was built between 1854 and 1859 in the Moorish Revival style, with the decoration based chiefly on Islamic models from North Africa and medieval Spain. The synagogue's Viennese architect, Ludwig Förster, believing that no distinctively Jewish architecture could be identified, chose "architectural forms that have been used by oriental ethnic groups that are related to the Israelite people, and in particular the Arabs".
The complex consists of the Great Synagogue, the Heroes' Temple, the graveyard, the Memorial and the Jewish Museum. Dohány Street itself, a leafy street in the city centre, has strong Holocaust connections as it constituted the border of the Budapest Ghetto.
The Raoul Wallenberg Emlékpark contains the Memorial of the Hungarian Jewish Martyrs. At least 400,000 Hungarian Jews were murdered by the Nazis. It resembles a weeping willow whose leaves bear inscriptions with the names of victims.
There is also a memorial to Raoul Wallenberg himself and others who saved tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews during World War II.
Please wait...